IN BANCO.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 258, 24 July 1908, Page 2

IN BANCO.

POLICE 7. HTJTCHESONS. . : DISMISSAL OF CHARGE UPHELD.' Judgment was delivered yesterday in tht case of the Police (appellants) ~v;. Mary Anr Hntcheson and Andrew Hutcheson '(respond ents), which;came on-for hearing.before the | Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout) aud Justice: i Cooper and Chapman on July 15. This was an appeal from the decision ol Mr. Riddell, S.M.i with respect,to a decision relating to an information charging the re spondents' with having, on October 3,1907 at No. 7, Foresters'. Lane, Wellington, kepi a brothel. The facts .found, by ..the .MagiS' trate were that the two respondents wer( ljusband and. wife, and ocoupied; jointly the game housed; The house ,was taken,.and th< rent the female respondent. The nar row question now was whetiior.the definition of" brothel'/ in the Indiotablo Offences-Sum-mary Jurisdiction.Act,. 1894, Section 13, cov er<xl the case where .there .was only oik woman in the house, who misconducted her sell. •_ -J ■ The Chjef Justice said that.'in his opinion it ivas clear that it was.not intended to coyer by the definition in Section 13 all cases oi habitual prostitution, and that the'common law meaning of 'brothel was not intendec to be changed. If it had been intended t< malto such a change,'there was no need of having the words " making habitual prostitution .an alternative offence" inserted.* His Honour •.thought,' therefore, .that", iftho Xegislatun had' intended to' 1 alter existing' law., il would have used dofinito and clear- words, instead of leaving; the matter "one of -inference.' In his opinion the' appeal should be dismissed. ■; .ir'v > ' Justices Cooper and Chapman, who-Jeliv bred a joint judgment, held that' if -tho;'Legislature' had intended to enlarge the commoii law meaning and- to mako a woman' win merely misconducted herself in her ;owr home guilty- of keeping a- brothel, one would have expccted to have found words whidt clearly indicated such-an intention, and thero wisre no such words- in either the Indictablc Offences 'Summary Jurisdiction Act or intlio Criminal- Code... Tho: -Magistrate's d-ccision was right iii law,: and tho- appeal nuist ba dismissed; ■' ; The appeal was dismissed accordingly. '• At the argument, Mr. Myers'appeared on behalf of ; the appollants,' but the respondents neither attended - nor were represented bv counsel. '